The telegram from the War Department was delivered to my mother on January 23, 1944, that her husband, my father, had been “Missing in Action” over Germany since January 11. My parents had been married for only two months when my father flew to England to serve as a Navigator on a B-17, flying bombing missions over Germany.

They remained separated for the duration of the war after my father’s plane was shot down and he became a prisoner of war of the Germans. What kept their spirits up and sustained their love for each other during this frightening time were their letters to each other.

The story of their lives during the war years can be seen through their letters and the historical telegrams and documents they saved. Their love for each other, their strength, and their patience transcended the horrendous events of WWII that interrupted their lives, events unimaginable to us today.